Women's Initiatives

The Women’s Initiative Committee (WIC) seeks to enhance the experience of women lawyers at the Firm and to support the Firm’s efforts to recruit, retain, and advance our women lawyers: (1) by focusing on women’s professional development; and (2) through networking and mentoring opportunities. A few examples of the events that the WIC organizes include the following:

• Speaker Events – The WIC hosts guest speakers and panel discussions on a variety of issues of interest to lawyers at the Firm. 
  • The WIC recently hosted a conversation with Dr. Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Coleman talked about current events in the Middle East and about the complex and emerging roles of Muslim women in contemporary society as described in her book, Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women Are Transforming the Middle East.
  • The WIC also co-hosted with the LGBT Network a conversation with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is the first woman and first openly gay official elected to that position. Speaker Quinn has been credited with the passage of the Clinic Access Bill, which protects women from being harassed or intimidated at reproductive health clinics, and the Safe Housing Act, which requires landlords to repair dangerous or unsafe apartments.
• Bar Association Events – The Firm encourages participation in bar association committees and events to support our lawyers’ professional development. For instance, the WIC hosted a group of women lawyers at the New York City Bar Association (NYCBA) in April 2010, when the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor spoke. Similarly, a group of women lawyers attended the NYCBA’s December 2009 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lecture on Women and the Law delivered by Melanne Verveer, the first U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.
• Social Events – The WIC plans occasional social activities for women lawyers, such as movie nights, dinners, and receptions at partners’ homes. In honor of Women’s History Month this year, the WIC hosted a special screening of the HBO film “Iron Jawed Angels,” which follows political activists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns in their quest to secure passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. In addition, a partner in S&C’s Washington, D.C. office recently hosted a spa night for the women lawyers in that office.
• Welcome Receptions – Each summer, the WIC hosts a welcome reception for women summer associates and all women lawyers in the New York office. The WIC also hosts a welcome breakfast each fall for incoming women associates and women partners in the New York office. The breakfast provides an opportunity for new associates to meet the women partners and for the partners to share experiences from their own lives and careers.
• Q&A with S&C Partner Alison Ressler – During the 2010 summer program, Alison Ressler participated in a Q&A session for lawyers and summer associates in the New York office. Ms. Ressler is a member of the Firm’s Management Committee and is responsible for the Firm’s practice in California. At the event, she addressed questions about her experiences practicing corporate law for more than 25 years.

S&C Women in Firm Leadership

As of June 1, 2011, the Firm had elected thirty-seven partners worldwide in the prior five years; thirteen of these partners are women. When the Project for Attorney Retention issued its 2010 list recognizing law firms committed to advancing women lawyers, S&C was listed as one of the best law firms for making significant advances in retaining and promoting women lawyers.

In addition, women partners hold several leadership positions in the Firm, including serving on the Firm’s Management Committee and other committees, managing multiple offices, and heading many practice groups and practice areas. For instance, women head S&C’s California and Asia Practices, Criminal Defense and Investigations Group, Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice, and Hedge Funds Practice.

Community Development

The Firm supports several charitable organizations that assist girls and women. Some examples are:

• The Komen New York City Race for the Cure® – A team of S&C lawyers, staff, families, and friends has participated in this annual 5K Run/Walk in Central Park for the last four years. Aided by the Firm’s contributions, we have raised over $85,000.
• The New York Women’s Foundation Annual “Celebrating Women®” Breakfast – The Firm purchases several tables at this annual breakfast event and invites a group of women clients and S&C lawyers. S&C lawyers also support NYWF through their board membership and committee participation.
• Sanctuary for Families – The Firm is a long-time supporter of Sanctuary for Families, which is the leading nonprofit in New York State dedicated exclusively to serving domestic violence victims, sex trafficking victims, and their children. S&C lawyers actively support the organization through their pro bono work: through the Bronx Family Justice Center Project, S&C lawyers screen and represent victims of domestic violence; and S&C lawyers and legal assistants assist immigrants, many of whom are victims of domestic violence, with their eligibility for visas and work permits through the U Visa Project. In addition, S&C lawyers and their spouses have served for many years as members of the Sanctuary for Families Board of Directors, and the Firm and many S&C lawyers have financially supported Sanctuary for Families’ annual “Zero Tolerance” benefit dinner. In 2011, S&C was honored to receive the Sanctuary for Families Law Firm Leadership Award.
• Dress for Success® “Share Your Success” Gala and “Women Helping Women” Breakfast – S&C supports Dress for Success, an international nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged women achieve economic independence. An S&C partner is a Dress for Success board member, and the Firm has been a major sponsor of both their “Share Your Success” Gala and “Women Helping Women” Breakfast events for the past several years.
• Legal Momentum’s Annual “Aiming High” Luncheon – The Firm has supported this annual event for the last few years. Legal Momentum is the oldest nonprofit legal organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls by using the power of the law and creating innovative public policy.
• Association of Black Women Attorneys (ABWA) – S&C sponsored ABWA’s 35th anniversary gala dinner and hosted an ABWA dinner for law firm associates at S&C’s New York office. S&C also supports ABWA through board membership and participation on the event committee for the 35th anniversary gala.
• National Association for Women Lawyers (NAWL) Annual Luncheon – For the last several years, lawyers from the Firm have attended NAWL’s annual luncheon. In 2009, S&C lawyers were co-sponsors of and presenters at NAWL’s morning CLE program.
• DirectWomen – The Firm is a platinum sponsor of DirectWomen, a program designed to identify, develop, and support a select group of senior women lawyers to serve as directors on the boards of public companies. S&C partner Alison Ressler has served as a faculty member for the DirectWomen Board Institute, an annual two-day program covering a range of topics designed to prepare the participants for serving on the boards of major U.S. corporations.

Family Matters

S&C offers a number of programs and policies with the goal of helping all our lawyers to balance their professional and personal needs. These benefits include paid parental leave (including maternity, adoption, and paternity leave), backup child care facilities, an infant transition program, alternative work or “flex-time” schedules, and same-sex domestic-partner benefits. In addition, an S&C partner who is a mother hosts periodic meetings for women who are, or may someday wish to be, mothers. The group meets informally to share personal experiences of balancing their roles as mothers and lawyers at S&C. See the Family Matters section for information on these benefits.

Awards and Recognitions

• In its most recent rankings, Vault listed S&C as among the “15 Best Law Firms for Women.”
• MultiCultural Law magazine has named S&C to its annual list of the “Top 100 Law Firms for Women” for a number of years, including most recently in 2011.
• In its 2009 and 2010 lists of the best U.S. law firms committed to advancing women lawyers, the Project for Attorney Retention recognized S&C for making significant advances in retaining and promoting women lawyers.